On the heels of the announcement that Dominick Cruz would defend his title against Demetrious Johnson at UFC on Versus 6 comes news of a bout that will determine who will face the winner.
Urijah Faber will lock 'em up against Brian Bowles in a number one contender fight at UFC 139 on Nov. 19 in San Jose. Here's the word from Dana White:
"Before a possible trilogy can be considered between Urijah Faber and his rival, Champion Dominick Cruz, he will take on one of the division's truly elite fighters, former Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles. A win over Faber would be massive for Bowles' bid to challenge for the belt that was once his. The stakes are high and the fight will be intense."
Faber is no doubt disappointed that he failed in his bid to earn an immediate rubber match against Cruz. "The California Kid" came up short at UFC 132, dropping a hard-fought decision to the champion in a thrilling five-round war in the running for "Fight of the Year."
Obviously that wasn't enough to convince the matchmakers to do it again ... not yet, anyway.
The Alpha Male will have to work his way past a heavy-handed submission specialist if he wants to tango for another title down the road.
Brian Bowles also competed at the "Cruz vs. Faber 2" event, working as hard as he ever has to earn a unanimous decision win over the always game Takeya Mizugaki.
It was the first time in 11 career fights the West Virginia native has made it to the judges scorecards.
Even more troubling, it was initially thought that Bowles suffered yet another hand injury. However, it was later learned that he did not and once he knew he was all clear, he, like Faber, began making his voice heard that he felt he was the best option to take on Cruz.
After all, the lone blemish on Bowles' otherwise spotless resume is courtesy of "The Dominator." He was losing the fight -- badly -- but the stoppage only came because of an injury and a responsible cageside doctor.
No different than Faber, that's not enough and if he wants another crack at Cruz, he'll have to earn it the hard way.
UFC 139 is likely the event that was previously thought to be UFC 138 before it was announced that the latter was actually going down Nov. 5 in England. That means UFC 139 is likely taking place on Nov. 19 in San Jose.
The event is expected to be headlined by a titanic heavyweight tilt with Cain Velasquez making the first defense of his title against division number one contender Junior dos Santos.
Chris Weidman vs. Tom Lawlor has also been announced as taking place on the card.
Keep it locked to MMAmania.com for more as it comes in on this still-developing fight card.
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